Photo: Li Hao/GT

"I kept hearing explosions over there. Baby, I was really scared to death," said a father, who was rushing forward, scooping up his young daughter and kissing her forehead lightly.

This was a scene witnessed by the Global Times reporters at around 2:30 am on Monday at the passenger exit of the arrivals hall of Beijing Capital International Airport. The little girl had just landed on a flight from Dubai and emerged from the arrivals exit.

Some Chinese nationals returning from the Middle East arrived at Beijing Capital International Airport in the early hours of March 9, as Chinese airlines resumed some flights to the region following disruptions caused by US-Israeli strikes on Iran since February 28.

Although it was early morning, Global Times reporters at the scene still saw crowds of people waiting to welcome their loved ones returning from abroad. With limited return flights mostly landing in first-tier cities, some had flown to Beijing from their hometown just to reunite with loved ones as soon as possible, the Global Times learned. 

Among them was a girl surnamed Wu. After graduating last summer from university in China, her boyfriend chose to join the construction industry and headed to the United Arab Emirates. Today marked their first meeting in over six months. Upon learning his flight had taken off safely, she rushed from her hometown Qingdao, East China's Shandong Province to Beijing. 

She told the Global Times that her boyfriend had sent her a video of a missile being intercepted in the air, leaving her unable to sleep from worry night after night.

A woman surnamed Yan was another who endured sleepless nights. Holding a bouquet with her husband, she alternated between anxiously slipping her hands into her pockets and standing on tiptoes, then opening her phone camera ready to record, eagerly awaiting her daughter returning from work in Dubai, hoping to capture the moment of family reunion.

Photo: Li Hao/GT

"We used to feel that war is distant from us, but now I realize it's so close to us," Yan said, her eyes seemingly glistening with tears.

Du Mingtang, who works in the finance industry, had taken his son and more than 20 company employees on a group trip to Dubai. After arriving at the Beijing airport safely with his son and employees, it was like a huge weight lifted from his heart. He told the Global Times that he truly felt the strength of the motherland from the smooth departure of domestic flights.

"We originally booked with foreign airlines, however, they kept delaying or canceling. In the end, we felt Chinese airlines were the most reliable," he said. He added that he also stayed in constant contact with the consulate, which gave him peace of mind by assuring him that the Air China flights would take them home.

He showed the Global Times reporters a post on WeChat Moments that he shared while he was boarding. The caption read: "In the Middle East these past few days, air defense sirens sounded every day. It really made me deeply feel the power of the motherland — our country is the real Superman."

His post included several photos, with the central one featuring Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi responding to reporters at a press conference on Sunday on the sidelines of the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress. The image shows what the Chinese foreign minister told the fellow Chinese abroad during the press conference: "While you may be facing a world of chaos and turbulence, you have behind you a motherland as firm as a rock."